Hinged last.



' Patented lan. I6, |900.

Nrrnn STATES PATENT Enron.

FRANK L. HOVEY, OF BROCKTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO FREDERICK A. HOYT AND DANIEL B. TIBBETTS, OF SAME PLACE.

HINGED LAST.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 641,629, dated January 16, 1900.

Application filed January 19, 1899. Serial No. 702,623. (No model.) I

To'ctZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK L. HOVEY, of

Brocktomin the county of Plymouth and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hinged Lasts, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has relation to hinged lasts of the class wherein a block is employed in connection with the hinged members; and it has for its object to provide certain improvements in lasts of the character specified whereby the parts may be locked together with greater rigidity than heretofore and whereby all the advantages heretofore gained by the hinging of the parts may be augmented by the strengthening of the last and by the ease with which the block may be detached to Withdraw the last from a shoe.

To these ends the invention consists of a hinged last having certain features of construction and relative arrangement of parts, all as illustrated upon the accompanying drawings, described in the following specification, and set forth with particularity in the appended claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompany-` represents a perspective view of the block de- Y tached.

In carrying out my invention the last is formed in three parts of., b, and c, the part a being the toe or front portion, b the heel or rear portion, which is hinged to the first-mentioned part, and c the locking-block, which engages the parts a and b. These parts are formed by three sections or cuts after the last has been properly shaped in the lathe, the tirst section being indicated at 6. It begins at 7 at the top of the last substantially midway between the crown 11 and the rear edge and extends downwardly and forwardly transversel y of the last toward the ball 8, stopping at 9 substantially in the plane of the waist. The second section lO is transverse of the last and is at substantially an angle of ninety degrees to the section 6 and is in substantially the plane of the waist of the last or a short distance in front of the instep. These two sections form the block c, and to separate the toe and heel portions a third section l2 is 6o made, beginning in a line substantially directly below the crown 11 or about one-third of the distance between the ends of the section 6 from the line 9 and extending downwardly and rearwardly. toward the heel, so that the front end of the heel portion b forms an angle of substantially seventyfive degrees. The parts a and b are connectedy together by a hinge having its leaves d d secured to the two faces formed by the section 7o 6 and having its pintle d2 substantially at the intersection of the cuts 6 and 12, whereby the heel portion a may be thrown forward, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, to shorten the last and permitv its withdrawal from the shoe. Preferably the hinge is placed in sockets in the parts a and b, so that it is flush with the faces of the latter, and is secured in place by a plurality of wood-screws d3. The block c is socketed at c to receive the pintle cl2, as 8o clearly illustrated, and at its front end is provided with two dowel-pins c2 c2, having their median lines lying in a plane substantially parallel with the plane of section 6, the two portions ct being socketed to receive said pins.

For the purpose of locking the three parts of the last detachably together I employ a fastening which is best shown in Figs. 2 and 4. It consists of a screw e, having an eye e on its end to receive a tool by which it is ro- 9o tated and also to engage the top of the lastblock. The block has a slot c3, through which the screw passes, said screw being engaged with a threaded aperture in the leaf d of the hinge. It will be seen that the screw is at an acute angle to the plane of the section 6, this being done that the cam action of the eye e when the screw is rotated may force the block toward the toe of the last. Thus the screw performs two functions. First, it draws the roo block firmly against the heel portion h, and, second, forces its end against the face formed in said toe portion by the section 10, so as to throw the parts a and b around the pintle d2 until the faces formed by the section l2 are in intimate and close contact. lThe block becomes a locking member and is rigidly connected to the parts a and b by the screw, and by means of said screw the block may be adjustably forced toward the toe end of lthe last to increase the pressure of the contact between the faces formed by the section 1'2 to augment the rigidity of the last for use.

The slot c3 is suiiiciently long to permit the eye of the screw to pass through it to allow the block to be detached without removing the screw from the part l).

The eye e' becomes to all intents and purposes a cam when the screw is rotated, and it is evident that it may be formed in other ways to accomplish the locking of the members together.

A last constructed in accordance with the foregoing description possesses great rigidity when the parts are locked together, and yet is readily removed from the shoe upon detaehing the block. The wedge-shaped end of the heel part b extends into the V-shaped socket formed by the blocks and toe part a, so that the pressure upon the middle part of the last of the tools employed in the manufacture of the shoe is withstood by all three members and there is no danger of the parts becoming strained or broken apart. The location of the section indicated at lO also adds to the strength of the last, for the toe portion is strongest at the plane where the section is made, and consequently there is little danger of cracking it.

The last possesses many other features ofA advantage due to the construction and arrangement of its parts, all of which will be apparent to those familiar with the art to which this invention relates.

I prefer to provide the section a with a dowel-pin z', which enters a socket formed for its reception in the section b, to prevent the possibility of independent side movement of either section.

Having thus explained the nature of the invention and described a way of constructing and using the same, although without having atte mpted to set forth all of the forms in which it may be made or all of the modes of its use, I declare that what I claim isl. A three-part last comprising a toe portion, a heel portion, hinged thereto, a locking-block overlapping the said toe and heel portions, and a fastening device adapted to adjustably force said block toward the toe end of the last and against the heel portion whereby the three members are all locked rigidly together.

2. A three-part last comprising a toe portion, and a heel portion having faces in the same plane, said toe portion having a second face at an angle to the irst-mentioned face, a Hat hinge having leaves secured to said first-mentioned faces, a block adapted to engage the faces in the said toe and heel portions, and having a slot and a fastening-screw arranged at an acute angle to said first-mentioned faces and passing through the slot in the block for forcing said block toward the toe of the last and for rigidly securing said block and said toe and heel portions together.

A last divided by three cuts or planes of division G, 10 and 12 into a toe portion a, a heel portion Z), and a block c, said last having a hinge connecting the toe and heel portions togetherat the intersection of sections 6 and 12, and means for rigidly securing said parts together, said means including a screw passed through an elongated slot in said block and through a threaded aperture in the hinge, whereby said block may be forced toward the toe of the last or re ved without detaching the screw. y0

In testimony wheieof I have ailixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK Il. IIOVEY.

IVitnesses:

R. M. PIERsoN, C. F. BROWN. 

